The king is back!

The original SimCity was a wonderfully clever and inventive city building game that introduced gamers the world over to the joys of creating their own personal realms and which paved the way for things like The Sims and Tropico. SimCity 2000 took things a few steps further but refining things and adding some cool new features and it remains a fine entry in the franchise, especially in this edition, which includes some nice extras. As ever, the goal is simply to design, build and expand your own little town, and as the mayor, you're responsible for basically everything. You'll get to lay roads, build houses, set down energy grids, build parks, zoos, hospitals and everything else that any thriving city needs. Changes in this version include a switch to a new isometric view, which gives more detail and makes things feel more immersive, while there are several new building types and options, as well as the option to design your own buildings in the Urban Renewal Kit, plus a whole bunch of other stuff. If you want something to really sink your teeth into without too much stress, then SimCity has always been a great bet and this version lives up to that legacy. There's something immensely satisfying about seeing your town take shape and expand and you can be prepared to lose a lot of time if you do pick this up as the game is very addictive. The new additions are very welcome, with the isometric perspective adding a lot of terms of visual appeal, while the other things also make the game deeper and more interesting. This remains the king of city builders.

Elvis Backkerman

Best early version of Sim City

I still remember when I got this game, mail order, I was quite excited. Hadn't actually bought it, a friend gave it to me along with a few other oldies, some of them in jewel cases, others in regular CD cases. Anyway, leaving my recollections aside, I'd say that for 2D top down isometric city builder and management games SC 2000 is pretty much the best option out there. Especially this edition, cleaner of bugs and with a few more additions. Otherwise, the Windows 95 like menus and interfaces make the game seem very professional, and sort of in tune with its plan eager nature. You really feel like you're doing something important when you're playing it! Plus, in terms of looks, the 2D tiles are probably the best I've seen of that era, clean, as detailed as you might wish. Sure, you couldn't really create cities that looked too different from one another style wise, as the game's tile sets could only be used to build a 20th century looking metropolis. But, the size of the chunk of your city visible was large enough to be satisfying, and the tools to build and manage were all pretty self explanatory. Play it, or alternatively see later titles in the series, maybe Sim City 3000, though I, for once am more than satisfied with this 2000 version.

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